"Gaspar complete: Russia’s Gazprom to halt gas supplies to Moldovan region next year"
Russian energy giant Gazprom has announced it will cease gas deliveries to the Moldovan region of Transnistria from January 1, 2025, citing unmet payment obligations.
In a statement shared on its Telegram channel, Gazprom informed Moldovan gas distributor Moldovagaz of its intention to stop supplies, alleging repeated violations of payment terms under their existing contract. The company also threatened to unilaterally terminate the contract and seek damages if Moldovagaz fails to honor its commitments.
"Effective from January 1, 2025, at 08:00 Moscow time, Gazprom will limit gas supplies to Moldova to zero cubic meters per day. This restriction will remain in place until Gazprom notifies Moldovagaz otherwise," the statement read.
Moldovagaz interim CEO Vadim Cheban acknowledged Gazprom’s decision, stating that the company had contingency plans in place. He confirmed that gas purchased from Russian suppliers since December 2022 has been exclusively supplied to the Transnistria region, while gas for consumers on the right bank of the Dniester River was sourced from regional and European markets.
Moldova’s gas contract with Russia is set to expire in October 2026. Since autumn 2022, Gazprom has limited supplies to 5.7 million cubic meters per day, which is significantly below Moldova’s winter demand. As a result, all Russian gas has been rerouted to the Transnistria region, used for electricity generation at the Moldovan GRES power plant, and for domestic consumption.
Notably, Ukraine has declared it will not extend its gas transit agreement with Russia, set to expire on January 1, 2025. Consequently, Moldova is operating under a 60-day state of energy emergency. Alternate gas supply routes for Moldova include the Trans-Balkan pipeline via Turkey. However, Russia’s professed cause for halting supplies—unpaid bills from the Russia-backed Transnistria region—complexifies potential re-initiation of deliveries, as Moldova refuses to recognize or settle the debt.